Philly Pranksters Arrested For Allegedly Threatening People With Pellet Gun For Laughs

Pranksters Arrested For Threatening People With Pellet Gun: Cops

A Philadelphia man whose idea of humor was to allegedly threaten people on the street with a pellet gun may not be laughing anymore.

Daron Stinson, 21, was arrested Feb. 18 and charged with aggravated assault, robbery and related offenses for two assaults that took place on Feb. 13.

His alleged accomplice, Courtland Gilliam, 19, was taken into custody on Feb. 20. He's been charged with robbery, simple assault and other crimes, WPVI-TV reported.

In one incident, which Stinson filmed and later posted on an Instagram page he titled "funniestnphilly," he and Gilliam drive up to a man salting a sidewalk, point the gun at him and demand he place the rock salt in the back of their black pickup truck, NBC Philadelphia reported.

The duo then yell profanities at the victim, when he spills the rock salt on the ground, before driving away.

Another video shows Stinson and Gilliam firing the pellet gun twice so the victim would run for cover.

Stinson, who works as a part-time security guard, claimed on his now-closed Instagram page that the videos were all in good fun.

“All of this is jokes,” he said. “I’m not out here really robbing people. I’m not out here really shooting people. I could be doing that. That’s the s**t I’m trying to leave behind.”

Stinson's father, Rodney Stinson, is not amused.

"He considers it funny," Rodney Stinson told NBC Philadelphia. "He does a lot of other things. Nothing with the gun is funny. Nothing. I don't consider it funny."

Philadelphia police spokesman John Stanford says Stinson turned himself in to police on Feb. 18, but warns anyone with the same sense of humor as the suspect from attempting similar "pranks."

“I can’t understand why anyone in their right mind would think something like this is a joke,” Stanford told CBS Philadelphia. “They could cause someone to have a heart attack. They could cause someone to be harmed in so many different ways. Again, this is just something that’s senseless and stupid, for lack of a better term.”

Stinson is currently behind bars on $125,000 bail. Police are asking any of the victims seen in the slew of assault videos he posted to call (215) 686-TIPS.

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